The weather in my city was pretty good in March and even now in April this year. So it’s perfect for getting out and seeing the parks and gardens in Guangzhou. April is getting a bit warm to be out too much, but it’s still bearable. One of the parks that my roommate,...
I love reading, so when one of my friends started a book club, I was super excited to join! We meet once a month to talk about the book we read that month. Since I don’t want to forget about the book before we talk about it, I usually try to time my reading so that I...
I like sushi. The best sushi I’ve ever had was in Japan, at a fish market in Tokyo. Two of my Japanese friends took me there, and even though I don’t usually prefer to eat raw fish, that one was perfect. We even had puffer fish which is poisonous if it is prepared...
One of the advantages of being a university teacher is that I get the chance to see amazing performances. The other day, my roommate, Kendra, and I were out having adventures in the city (I’ll have to tell you more about those in another post). As we were getting on...
I often have colleagues complain that their students don’t talk in class—the good kind of talking. When I hear these complaints, I always feel a bit sad. I feel sad for the teacher because I know how frustrating that is, but I also feel bad for the students who don’t...
This semester, I decided to join one of my roommate’s Chinese classes. When she told me that one of her classes is Chinese Literature, I was pretty excited as that is a topic that interests me. Really, literature from any culture is interesting to me, but since I’m...
My roommate has now spent three months (altogether) living in Vietnam with her friend’s family, and while she enjoys some of the food, her biggest struggle during that time was the food. For that reason, I had low expectations about the food as I prepared to go visit...
I love watching live musicals, and Guangzhou Opera House is a wonderful place to enjoy them. Few of the musicals I've seen are as impressive or beautiful as Phantom. I love the costumes and most of all the music. The story is a bit frustrating. The first time I saw...
When I used to teach IELTS speaking or just regular spoken English classes, I liked to have a travel lesson, and one of the questions I often asked the students (usually as a warm-up or introduction) was: How do you like to travel? With family, with a friend, with...
I have realized that I need to be more thankful for the blessings in my life rather than allowing myself to wallow in pity parties. I’ve been reading Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic. If a man with no arms and no legs can be thankful, I should be able to be...